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FIRST OF A TWO-PART, GREEN SPORTS ALLIANCE-FOCUSED STORY: The Green Sports Alliance (Alliance) offered an action-oriented statement as a response to the decision by President Trump to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Partnering with basketball Hall-of-Famer Bill Walton, the GSA is using this “Post-Paris Exit” (#Prexit) moment to launch a new initiative, the “Live Green or Die” challenge and to welcome individuals to join its ranks.

President Donald J. Trump’s announcement that he plans to pull the U.S out of the Paris Climate Agreement has, according to Justin Zeulner, executive director for the Green Sports Alliance, strengthened the Alliance’s resolve to do what it can to accelerate the pace of the greening of sports.

“In the current climate, we’ve gone from a state of concern to a state of emergency. Climate change threatens the sports industry’s very existence. It has never been more urgent for the industry to take action – and it’s doing just that,” said Zeulner. “Across the board, from owners to athletes, sports organizations are focusing their attention and resources on greening their sports. That singular focus is essential to winning in sports – and in the battle against climate change. The stakes are too high to risk inaction. Losing is not an option.”

The Alliance invited eco-athletes, team owners, and stadium designers to share their feelings on #Prexit and the way forward in the statement.

Bill Walton and the Alliance Partner to Involve Fans Now with LIVE GREEN OR DIE

The Alliance sees increasing fan involvement in the Green-Sports movement as an immediate and important next step. With that in mind, they are opening Alliance membership, heretofore the preserve of teams, venues, leagues and business, to individual fans. And they’re partnering with basketball Hall-of-Famer Bill Walton to do it.

Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton (Photo credit: USA Today)

Walton and the Alliance are urging fans to take the LIVE GREEN OR DIE challenge. Click here to take a pledge, commit to greater sustainability, and join the Alliance in leading the sports greening movement.

“We have the moral obligation, duty, and responsibility to do everything we can to remedy what’s happening – environmental cancers, poisoned water, and unbreathable air – all due to climate change, which is a self-inflicted tragedy,” intoned Walton as he pressed fans to take the challenge. “Get on the Green Sports Alliance express. This is not something that will happen by itself. Our success, our future, our lives depend on each of us taking positive and concentrated steps forward based on knowledge, science, and technology.”

Other eco-athletes are speaking out on Trump, Paris and Moving Forward

It’s not only Bill Walton.

The Alliance’s statement included the takes of several leading eco-athletes, some of whom may be familiar to GreenSportsBlog readers.

Andrew Ference

“It is incredibly disappointing to see the global efforts to combat climate change being politicized in the United States,” said former National Hockey League player Andrew Ference. “People and businesses from across the country don’t see this as a left or right issue, rather an issue which means going forward or backward. The world is stronger when America moves forward.”

Ference created the NHL Players Association Carbon Neutral Challenge in 2007, the first major environmental initiative in professional hockey. He encouraged more than 500 players to go carbon neutral, establishing him as a leader in the green sports movement. Ference holds a certificate in Corporate Sustainability and Innovation from Harvard Extension School, and is the most recent recipient of the Green Sports Alliance’s Environmental Leadership Award.

Olympic Gold medalist (soccer, Atlanta ’96) Mary V. Harvey called Prexit “extremely disappointing” but sees it as “a rallying cry for all of us to step up our game. And we will. Climate change is real, and we all have a responsibility to advocate for protecting our environment.”

During the FIFA reform process, Harvey helped organize a global campaign calling for gender equity as a core tenet. Over 12 weeks, #WomeninFIFA reached more than 10 million people. Recently Harvey became the first woman to receive the Werner Fricker Builder Award from US Soccer for her long-term advocacy of the sport.

Mary V. Harvey, the first woman to receive the Werner Fricker Builder Award from US Soccer for her long-term advocacy of the sport (Photo credit: Mary V. Harvey)

Will Witherspoon

According to a recent survey by the Yale Program on Climate Communication, not only do 86 percent of Democrats want to remain in the Paris Climate Agreement, but so do 51 percent of Republicans. Will Witherspoon, who spent 12 years as a linebacker for the St. Louis Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, and Tennessee Titans, reflected this reality when he said, “The voices of the few should not outweigh the voices of the many. The work we do together is critical – now more than ever.” Witherspoon manages his Shire Gate Farm, a 500-acre, grass-fed cattle farm in Missouri, renowned for its use of sustainable farming techniques and certified by Animal Welfare Approved.

“It is tremendously disheartening to see the recent step back from climate change leadership,” said Ranadivé. “However, through sport as a platform for good, we’re witnessing tremendous strides and new records in how businesses operate, how fans mitigate their impact on the planet, and how together, communities are working to preserve our environment for generations to come.”

Builders of sports venues are sticking with Paris

HOK, is, arguably, the world’s leading stadium and arena design, architecture, engineering, and planning firm. They are behind several of the most sustainable sports structures in North America, including Met Life Stadium, home of the Jets and Giants, Rogers Place in Edmonton (Oilers), and Nationals Park in Washington.

“We are encouraged by the number of current sports projects that are pursuing ambitious sustainable design goals,” said Chris DeVolder, HOK’s senior vice president and managing principal. “We stand by our commitment to AIA^ 2030, which targets carbon neutrality for all new buildings, developments, and major renovations by 2030, [as well as] the companies, organizations, and US cities, counties, and states that continue to honor the Paris Agreement. As a global firm, we can do no less.”

TOMORROW, PART TWO: A PREVIEW OF THE SEVENTH GREEN SPORTS ALLIANCE SUMMIT